The experience of life and death and real human nature interweave on this plane, with the moment CA1524 falls, the plane | Xing Lida | Life

"Look at that beautiful cloud below!" Mom excitedly pointed out the machine window. Liu Jia glanced out of the window. The next second, the plane plummeted violently. Liu Jia turned her head back and immediately grabbed her mother's hand and hugged her.

At this moment, it seemed to confirm Liu Jia's nervousness before boarding the plane. At 14:35 on July 10th, as the rain had just ended, 30-year-old Liu Jia looked out of the newly cleared window of the shuttle bus and messaged a friend, "Nervous, panicked."

On July 10th, Air China Flight CA1524 took off from Shanghai Hongqiao at 15:24 and encountered clear air turbulence during the flight, injuring one passenger and one crew member. The flight arrived at Beijing Capital Airport at 17:18, and Air China arranged for a dedicated person to accompany the injured passengers and flight attendants to the hospital for treatment.

The Beijing Shanghai route is one of the busiest routes in the world, and countless ordinary people have traveled back and forth on this route. But this flight, which took off in the summer rainstorm season, is the first time for many people to experience the breath of death, making strangers connect, and forcing people to jump out of ordinary days to re-examine the meaning of life and start again.

"This flight is the only hope for many people to return to Beijing smoothly today."

At around 14:40 on July 10th, Liu Jia and her mother boarded CA1524. When boarding, Liu Jia looked up at the sky, and the dark clouds slowly drifted towards the east. The sun above was slightly obscured by thin clouds and mist. Although it's not a sunny day, I feel like it won't rain again.

CA1524 on that day was the only opportunity for many passengers departing from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to return to Beijing. Due to the impact of the weather on that day, multiple flights on the Beijing Shanghai route were diverted to surrounding cities such as Hangzhou, with only CA1524 landing at Hongqiao Airport as scheduled. Many passengers hastily rescheduled to this large aircraft from other flights.

Liu Jia and her daughter were also trapped in this ever-changing rain for a while. At 11 noon, Liu Jia and her mother were stuck on the way to Suzhou High Speed Rail Station and had to reschedule the high-speed rail service. When their high-speed train entered Shanghai, the waterline gradually turned into droplets, and the rain was decreasing.

At 12:50, Liu Jia arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. She and her mother are going to take a flight to Inner Mongolia here and transfer at the Capital Airport Station. Liu Jia went to work in Suzhou after graduation, and she hasn't returned to her hometown in Inner Mongolia for nearly ten years. After the first sunny day in June this year, she and her mother decided to embark on their journey back home on July 10th.

Before boarding the plane, Liu Jia confided her fear of flying to her friends. Respondents provide pictures

When checking in, the staff stated that CA1524 would be delayed and the plane was changed from Airbus 350 to Airbus 330. In fact, the Ctrip app initially showed that the aircraft to be ridden was the Boeing 787, but when selecting seats, it was changed to the Boeing 789. Seeing it switched to Airbus, Liu Jia breathed a sigh of relief. According to a certain flight software, CA1524 has been rated as a "reliable flight" due to its years of operation without accidents and high punctuality rate.

Due to system issues, Liu Jia only chose a seat around 13:50, leaving only two connected positions in the last row, with the toilet behind.

When boarding, Liu Jia found that the cabin was almost full. She speculated that it was because many passengers changed their schedules after hearing that this was the only flight that could fly to Beijing today.

Xing Lida, a paleontologist who participated in museum activities in Shanghai, also rescheduled to this flight. In the past 1/4 summer vacation, the associate professor of China University of Geosciences spent most of his time with his students in the field practice in Xizang and Qinghai. Returning to his home in Beijing became his most urgent moment of rest.

Xing Lida searched for weather conditions before the flight. Respondents provide pictures

When boarding, Xing Lida noticed that there were several young people among the same group of passengers who were dressed in stylish clothes, had tattoos on their bodies, and were carrying musical instruments on board. Later, he found out that a large shopping mall in Shanghai held a music festival the day before, and many independent bands were invited to participate.

Wang Jun, a member of the Summer Solstice Dream Band, is one of these young people. He and the band arrived at the airport at noon that day, and the plane they had chosen to take was repeatedly delayed. Upon learning that the scheduled flight would be delayed until 9 pm, he felt a bit anxious and decided to reschedule. My family sent a message saying that strong winds of 7 to 8 levels are blowing in Shandong region, but he feels that several teammates are together and there is nothing to worry about.

The shouting control band who participated in the music festival together almost stuck on the CA1524. When they decided to reschedule, the departure time was approaching. The luggage has been transported to the check-in vehicle of the original flight. The airport staff quickly picked up and transferred their luggage to CA1524. "If we delay for another 10 minutes, we won't be able to catch the flight," a band member recalled.

On July 10th, due to weather conditions, passengers who were preparing to reschedule to take CA1524. Respondents provide pictures

Also flying for the dream of music, there is Xiaoyu. Nurse Xiaoyu, who has just graduated and worked for 2 years, is a fan of idol Wang Linkai. In order to follow her idol, she travels about ten times a year and has seen her idol more than 70 times.

At 15:24, the plane took off, 39 minutes later than the planned departure time. Everyone sat quietly in their seats. Liu Jia's mother sat by the window, with Liu Jia next to her. There are electronic screens in front of each seat, and Liu Jia found a Hong Kong film called "Detective Battle". Due to her limited experience in flying, she didn't know if she could ask the flight attendant for headphones and watched almost the entire silent film.

Xing Lida, who was almost a regular in the air, was much more relaxed than Liu Jiasong. As soon as he boarded the plane, he found a comfortable sitting position and opened his phone to watch the animated film he had downloaded in advance. Soon, he switched back to the movie.

Wang Fu also has rich flight experience. He used to choose the last row of seats for each flight, but on that day, due to rescheduling, he was unable to select a seat in time. He sat in the middle four rows with a drummer in front of him, separated by a row. The position on the right side of the double seat is for members of the shouting control band.

After settling down, he put on his headphones and started listening to music, and used his phone memo to organize the recent complex performance schedule.

A mother sitting behind him talked to a pair of children about some past flying experiences. The two children happily talked about their experiences playing at the amusement park a few days ago. On the other side of the back row, there was a boy he had met before check-in, traveling with his father but not sitting with him.

When boarding the plane, his father asked him if he wanted to change seats and sit together. He yelled at the control band member Liu Xinghan and said he was willing to coordinate his seats, but the boy refused. Liu Xinghan caught a glimpse of the boy still on Baidu before takeoff, "How to overcome fear on the first flight.".

"This is not a bump, it's a drop with a strong sense of weightlessness."

30 minutes after takeoff, a male voice with a Beijing accent sounded in the cabin: the plane was already in a steady flight phase, with an altitude of over 30000 feet.

Liu Jia asked his mother, "Do you know how much one foot is?" Her mother said, "I don't know." One foot, when converted to centimeters, seems to be 3048. More than 30000 feet is almost 10000 meters, which is equivalent to an altitude of 10000 meters, Liu Jia thought.

After the plane flew flat, it was soon time for the meal to be served. The flight attendant walked past Liu Jia, and a small car was piled with mountain shaped chicken sandwiches, while a small box was placed on top of the car. The box contains nuts, yogurt, and wet wipes. She asked for an extra bottle of mineral water.

On Liu Jia's seat screen, the villainous characters in the play were finally revealed. At this moment, a broadcast sounded in the cabin, indicating that the plane is ready to land, the restroom and cabin services are about to stop, and the flight attendants are conducting cabin safety checks.

Mom held a water glass and pointed out the window, saying to Liu Jia, "Look at that beautiful cloud below." Liu Jia glanced out the window and saw a beautiful small cloud, just like the imagined colorful auspicious clouds, surrounded by a soft white circle of light colors. The clouds were floating under the plane, shining brightly in the sunlight, and everything was calm and comfortable.

At this moment, a dramatic scene occurred. One second later, the plane crashed with a bang. The water in the cup is missing. Liu Jia's mother shouted, "I've spilled all my water and my pants are wet." She immediately covered the cup and placed it in the storage bag in front of the seat, sealing it.

This jolt came suddenly and lasted for three or four seconds. Wang Fu remembers that there was no warning broadcast for turbulence before the fall. The flight attendant is conducting a safety check and immediately took emergency measures to squat down. After a slight stabilization, she immediately went to the bathroom to check for any passengers.

The passengers near Wang Jun did not make any screams, but the passengers in the back row shouted loudly. Wang Jun speculated that the back row might be shaking. The boy behind him, who was flying for the first time, quickly bent down and hugged his head, which was the standard defensive collision posture shown in the video.

Due to the strong turbulence of the plane, many passengers began to tightly embrace the backrest of the seat in front. Respondents provide pictures

After an interval of twenty to thirty seconds, the second, more intense turbulence came again. The mineral water, cabin manual, nuts, yogurt, and wet wipes in the storage bag in front of Liu Jia were all gone. She glanced at her mother and found that her hair was standing up.

"This time it wasn't a jolt, it was a fall," Liu Jia later said. The "jolt" that appeared in the news didn't seem to fully express her momentary feeling of weightlessness at the time.

Mom said Liu Jia's face was pale and even turned purple later on Liu Jia recalled that it was completely fragmented at that time, and she didn't remember who she was or any regrets in her life. She just stood still and thought, "I'm going to draw an end here today."

Instinctively, she hugged her mother tightly and said, "I heard that when it falls, it will disintegrate. I want to die together, don't separate when it disintegrates."

Even with his seat belt fastened, Wang Jun's body had already left his seat in the fall and risen into the air. His brain was almost blank at the time, but some thoughts flashed through him - could the plane really crash? But he always believed that good luck would favor him. He had watched the documentary "Aerial Catastrophe" and had some understanding of aviation and aviation accidents. Before takeoff, he thought the captain's level was good when flying smoothly.

Afterwards, Wang Jun also saw a bumpy video circulating online, "it seemed like it was the first time it had fallen.". He said that during the second jolt, no one should be able to take a video, and if anyone could still hold their phone, it would be "too powerful".

Aircraft safety exit signs damaged in turbulence. Xing Lida provided pictures.

On the path of Xiaoyu's pursuit of stars, the turbulence of navigation is normal, but it is the first time that something as fierce as this one, even approaching the aura of death, has occurred. During the second jolt, several screams of girls could be heard in Xiaoyu's ears. The person sitting next to them is awakened from their sleep. "I won't have to leave it here today, will I?" At that time, Xiaoyu's only thought was to go home.

"Isn't this the plot from the movie?" Xing Lida, sitting in the 48th row, and the male passenger next to him spoke in unison as the fall occurred.

At this moment, Xing Lida happened to be watching a hijacking plane crash film on his phone, and the film was playing as the plane was shaking. "Suddenly, the plane I was on also began to crash and shake, experiencing an immersive experience. I was startled and a bit dazed." Xing Lida remembered the last time he had this experience, when he was studying in Canada. At that time, there was a campus shooting incident in the school, and he was playing computer CS games upstairs at the scene. Suddenly, he felt the gunshot sound in his ear was particularly real, thinking that "the stereo effect of the game was particularly good.". The next day when he went downstairs, he found that the police had already surrounded the door tightly.

However, there is ultimately a significant gap between reality and film. "At the time of the air crash, you had anticipated that there would be heroic figures inside who would rescue you, which would make you feel more at ease. But what happened in reality? There was no answer," Xing Lida said later.

Wang reported that the children in the back row broke the tense and oppressive atmosphere inside the cabin. He shouted, "Let's take the roller coaster!" The mother sitting next to him was so scared that she stopped talking. The child tried to comfort her and said, "It's okay, Mom. We're on the roller coaster."

"After a thrilling moment, everyone in the cabin began to chat like acquaintances."

Xing Lida's question about whether there is a hero who saves airplanes quickly became answered in reality. Xing Lida is sitting on the right aisle in the 48th row. A meter away, he witnessed the entire process of passengers being escorted by flight attendants after the turbulence occurred.

This middle-aged female passenger may have just come out of the restroom, and it seems that she was startled when she first fell, ready to walk back to her seat with something to support. A young flight attendant took the initiative to step forward and assist. At this moment, a second and more violent descent occurred, and the flight attendant did not hold onto the lady. The two of them were thrown up to the ceiling together. The safety exit sign was smashed and the ceiling kicked open.

"If it weren't for pulling the passenger to prevent her from hitting the ceiling directly, the flight attendant might not have been hit so heavily. Her actions at the time were clearly protecting the passenger," Xing Lida sighed.

But the passenger was still not completely pulled. In the midst of shaking and bumping, she collided with the damaged hallway light, and her forehead was cut and bleeding from sharp fragments.

A safety exit sign that has fallen in turbulence. Photo by Xing Lida

After the turbulence, the injured female passenger was surrounded by the flight attendants, and a search for medical personnel to treat her wounds sounded on the plane.

Liu Jia saw a long haired girl wearing black clothes walking over. Wang Jun also saw this girl. He had seen her before check-in, and several of them were wearing clothes with elements of singer Wang Linkai. This girl is exactly Xiaoyu.

When the radio was searching for medical personnel, Xiaoyu actually hesitated for a moment. "I have just started working and I am afraid that my abilities may not be enough." After she looked around and found no one standing up, she made up her mind to stand up. Fortunately, she found that the female passenger was not seriously injured and gave her a simple debridement treatment.

After a thrilling moment, Xing Lida clearly felt the atmosphere in the cabin warm up, and the strangers who had been rushing to each other began chatting like acquaintances.

The man sitting next to Xing Lida never spoke to him before the turbulence occurred. After the incident, he naturally sighed towards Xing Lida, "I took a plane before, and there was also a very dangerous one."

"How dangerous is it?" Xing Lida asked curiously.

"The oxygen mask on top has come off," the man recalled.

Xing Lida also exchanged a few greetings with the flight attendant on the right side beside him. She said, "This is also the strongest turbulence I have ever encountered since flying."

When the passengers in the cabin still had a calm expression, the flight attendants quickly regained their composure and were busy comforting and helping the passengers around them, which made Xing Lida somewhat admirable.

The injured female flight attendant quietly returned to her seat. Xing Lida discovered a bloodstain on the middle right arm of the female flight attendant, who had been tightly holding onto her waist, causing pain on her face.

The passengers near the seat are all concerned about her injuries. Someone took out a pillow to give to the injured flight attendant, but was politely refused.

Wang Jun and a group of passengers began to pick up scattered items on the ground. The band drummer also helped everyone search for lost items in the hallway, chatting with Wang Jun while picking them up: "Brother, I was really scared just now."

Wang Xun looked up and saw that the drummer's face turned pale He estimated that the drummer was lightweight and should have flown more thoroughly than himself.

At 17:20, the aircraft landed and entered the taxiing phase, then slowly stopped and the safety indicator lights went out. At the moment when the wheels of the plane extended and landed, Liu Jia felt that she was truly fine.

At the beginning, there was only the sound of releasing the seat belt while gliding in the cabin. Slowly, various emotions began to spread on the plane. There are those who are excited, those who are afraid, and those who are angry and want to complain.

Xing Lida remembers that there were three rounds of applause in the cabin. But none of them are the kind of loud applause in movies, all in one go. At the moment when the wheels of the plane touched the ground, he and his friend sitting on his left began to take the lead in applauding. But after drumming for a while, there didn't seem to be much response, and they stopped awkwardly. After a while, someone next to Xing Lida applauded and he quickly joined in. Finally, another wave of applause emerged

The boxer Li Jingliang sitting in the back row was also the one who led the way in applauding. Wang Fu, who was also in the same cabin, turned around and saw about 20 people applauding. "The applause was given to the crew members, but I feel that most of it was an encouragement for myself, after all, it's safe. Give yourself a boost," Wang explained.

When getting off the plane, Liu Jia walked to the door and saw a female flight attendant holding her waist in her right hand saying goodbye to the passenger, "You've worked hard!" Liu Jia thought at the time that the girl might have twisted her waist. "Hurry up and check it out. What else are you saying goodbye to?"

Xing Lida, who witnessed all the scenes, knew that she was the female flight attendant who was protecting the injured female passenger during the turbulence of the plane. "After she was injured, she continued to relieve pain in her seat until she stood up again and appeared next to the cabin door she was responsible for before it opened."

Xing Lida felt that a few scattered and intermittent applause did not seem like heroic legends in generous American blockbusters, but rather had a more realistic sense of heroism.

"After this flight, marks were left on both the body and mind."

This flight ultimately left some "imprints" on Liu Jia's body and heart - when boarding, Liu Jia put her phone in her pants pocket. She and her mother tightened their seat belts throughout the journey. The seat belt was tightened at the moment of falling, so the position where the phone was placed was bruised. She only found the scar after returning home, and she didn't feel any pain from beginning to end.

After two jolts, passengers' belongings scattered all over the ground. Respondents provide pictures

For the next two days, she had no appetite and kept retching, just like the fear she had in a thunderstorm when she was a child. She always suffers from insomnia and can't help but wonder, in the cloudless sky, where exactly is the problem?

Liu Jia flipped through the analysis of a weather blogger and understood that "clear air turbulence" is a sudden, colorless, tasteless, and traceless airflow. If cloud turbulence is not avoided in a timely manner, extreme situations may throw passengers and flight attendants who are not wearing seat belts onto the top of the cabin, causing fractures or even death. In the most serious case, it may even cause the aircraft to disintegrate in mid air.

She also saw an analysis: due to global warming - from 1979 to 2023, severe clear air turbulence over North America increased by 41%, while the number of severe clear air turbulence over the North Atlantic sharply increased by 55%

Although the specific reason for the clear sky turbulence this time is not clear, Liu Jia is willing to believe that it is the closest she has ever been to global environmental change as an individual. She decided to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use less plastic" next.

After seeing the news that Xiaoyu was helping passengers on the plane at home, Liu Jia recalled a tall boy wearing an exaggerated blue velvet hat next to him when he arrived at the capital airport to transfer to the subway, with several girls taking photos around him. Later, she found out that the person was artist Wang Linkai, also known as Xiaoyu's idol.

Idol Wang Linkai asked her about the situation after the light rain fell. Xiaoyu remembered that the first sentence he said was "Are you okay?" When he confirmed that Xiaoyu was going to help others, there seemed to be an indescribable pride on his face.

Idols and fans have reached an unprecedented understanding at this moment. "We have always been each other's redemption, and his hard work inspires me to become a better person," Xiaoyu described his relationship with his idol.

The first thing that Wang Jun thought to himself after getting off the plane was to hurry home. While waiting to check in their luggage, the band members joked together that their instruments and equipment were probably "choking" with such a jolt, but later they checked and found no major problem.

After experiencing this flight, Wang Jun told his family that he wanted to slow down a bit. In the few seconds when the plane bounced and crashed, he felt that all his troubles had disappeared, because those worries were insignificant in the face of life and death. These past few days, he has tried his best to stop procrastinating and not waste his time on meaningless things like before.

The Summer Solstice Dream Band returned to Shanghai to perform on July 14th. Respondents provide pictures

On July 14th, the Summer Solstice Dream Band returned to Shanghai and toured at the Yuyin Hall. This time, they cancelled their original flight and switched to high-speed rail travel. "We want to take a month off for now. Although we say it's okay and we can continue taking the plane, we still have lingering palpitations."

When getting off the plane, Xing Lida saw a sign on the T3 departure floor of Beijing Capital Airport, which read "Air China is here", being blown down by strong winds and scattered on the ground. Surrounding the collapsed road sign are several workers protecting the site. "The weather these days has been quite extreme, with strong winds and heavy rain. However, after getting off this flight, the feeling is more of relief than survival." Xing Lida described.

After arriving at Beijing Capital Airport, Xing Lida saw the airline sign that had been blown down by strong winds. Xing Lida provided pictures

Due to the nature of his work, Xing Lida has encountered too many natural and man-made disasters, mudslides, earthquakes, and even human attacks during his field investigations all year round. Compared to his previous experiences, this time he cannot be considered a part of it